Meditation

Meditation at Work: For When You Only Have a Few Minutes to Calm Down

By Jade Doherty

Work presents all kinds of stress and challenges. Check out these meditation at work tips to reduce stress, increase focus, and feel great.

Hands up who has ever experienced stress at work?

Ahh, that would be all of us.

I'm sure that everyone has experienced stress at work (if you haven't please let the rest of us know what kind of stress-free job you have found or created!) and those stresses are most likely not going away.

Be it a big presentation, a challenging boss or colleague, a heavy workload, a lot of deadlines, or difficult customers, there are a lot of different sources of stress we experience in our workplace.

Meditation is a great tool to have in your back pocket when it comes to reducing stress in the workplace.

Meditation not only helps you calm down in the moment, but a continued meditation practice has a whole host of other benefits including a reduction in both stress and anxiety which you don't get so stressed in the first place!

In this article, we will cover some simple meditation techniques you can use to practice meditation at work, plus advice and next steps on how to start a long-term meditation practice that has a ton of benefits, including stress reduction.

3 techniques to practice meditation at work

I know you might be thinking "But I can't practice meditation at work! I'll look so weird!".

Never fear! These techniques are quick, simple, and discrete. You can practice them at your desk, or if you'd prefer you can find an empty meeting room or go outside for a few minutes. If people can take a few minutes to smoke a cigarette or get some coffee, you can sneak in a meditation break!

It is best to learn meditation with proper guidance under a well-trained meditation teacher and have a well-proven meditation practice of your own. Until then, here are some techniques similar to meditation that you can use to find some peace during your busy day at work.

Anytime you are in a stressful situation, feel your stress levels rising, and know that you need fast stress relief you can turn to these techniques.

1 - Guided Meditation

Guided meditation is a great introduction to meditation as you have a teacher guiding you. It can be intimidating to start meditating at first, so guided meditation is a great way to get started with your meditation practice.

Here are 22 guided meditations for you to get started!

If you find yourself getting stressed at work, why not find an empty meeting room and try a guided meditation? You might also find that meditating before or after work helps you to feel calmer and more grounded during the workday.

2 - Mindfulness Meditation

According to mindful.org Mindfulness is “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us”.

Mindfulness is a great way to work with your mind when it starts getting very busy and overwhelming. An unchecked mind can run in all different directions, but by practicing mindfulness meditation you can start bringing more order to your mind.

Here is a simple 10-minute mindfulness meditation you can try at work:

Find a quiet space where you can sit comfortably (a meeting room, or even your desk if that’s all you have available). Keep your spine straight but comfortable.
Place both hands on your legs or knees with your palms facing the ceiling.
Become aware of your body, and notice how it feels. Is there tension, or pain, or sensations anywhere in the body? If you do find strong sensations, just observe them.
Bring your awareness to your breath and notice its flow; the inhale and the exhale, the inhale and the exhale, repeating on and on. No need to control the breath, simply notice it.
Continue to watch your breath in this way for 10 minutes. Just observing the flow of breath. If your mind starts to wander, bring it back to the flow of your breath. You can even set a timer for 10 minutes. Don’t worry, all your emails will still be there when you get back! Just take this 10 minutes to focus on yourself.

3 - Walking Meditation

Is there anything better than getting out of the office for a bit and just walking? The fresh air, the chance to move your body, a break from emails! You can make the most of this time by practicing walking meditation.

Firstly, you’ll need somewhere to walk. Nature would be ideal, but bar those lucky people who work in nature reserves, most of us will be looking for a park, or quiet sidewalks to walk. Try to avoid busy roads as it will be hard to practice walking meditation while also dodging people and cars!

Secondly, slow down and engage your senses. Treat this as meditation rather than exercise. We’re not going for the fastest walk possible with your headphones blaring. Rather we want a slower mood, where you can notice your breath and engage with your senses. Notice what you hear, see, smell, feel and (maybe) taste. Are there birds chirping, or a cool breeze on your skin? Just notice.

Next, become aware of your step. Notice the swing of your arms, the way your feet go one in front of the other. The intention is to become aware, and we can become aware of so many different things. Here you’re becoming aware of your own movement.

Finally, focus your attention consciously. If you notice your mind wandering off to think about deadlines or phone calls, bring it back to observing (be it through your senses, noticing your breath, or your movements).

We want to give your mind a break from what’s stressing it out, and by focusing on your breath and senses, you can help it to focus on something else, and give it the opportunity to calm down a little.

Bonus 4th workplace meditation technique!

Sometimes we just have way too much to do at work and end up staying late to get things done.

Yoga Nidra, which is also known as yogic sleep, is a rejuvenating meditation practice that takes you to deep states of relaxation and energizes your body more than sleep.

Granted it's difficult to just lie down in the middle of your office and practice Yoga Nidra, but if you're working from home or are maybe working so late that you're the only person at work, a quick Yoga Nidra session can help you reduce stress, recharge and get through the day.

You can find a guided Yoga Nidra meditation here.

Developing a regular meditation practice

The meditation techniques we've covered here are great for reducing stress in the moment.

But, if you want to go further and develop a sustainable, long-term meditation practice that not only reduces stress in the moment but also has a whole host of other benefits, you are in the right place!

SKY Breath Meditation is our entry-level meditation program, which is simple, powerful, and has amazing benefits.

By working with the breath, you will not only find it easier to meditate but will also enjoy a ton of benefits, including:

- Reduced stress

- Reduced anxiety

- Reduced depression

- Increase positive emotions

- Increased mental health

You can see some of the research on SKY Breath Meditation here. It has also been found to reduce PTSD in war veterans. Even The Harvard Business Review has written about the benefits of SKY Breath Meditation.

How to get started?

If you're ready to get started, we invite you to join us for Beyond Breath. A free workshop, led by an expert instructor, will introduce you to breath-based meditation.

It's a great opportunity to learn a meditation breathing technique and find out more about the full SKY Breath Meditation course. too.

Click below to sign up, and claim your spot.